Even the Pope has noticed

Knute Rockne (1888 AD - 1931 AD)

105-12-5 as Notre Dame Football Head Coach
Winner of 3 National Football Championships

More importantly, converted to Catholicism due to the good example of ND football players

That Notre Dame is defaulting on its Catholic obligations.  And he's not talking about the 26 years since their last football title.

Of course, this has been going on since 1967, but kudos to Pope Francis for calling Notre Dame out.
 

Is the Pope Catholic?

Is he or isn't he?

"Is the Pope Catholic?" is a rhetorical question, asked in jest, since it is beyond doubt that the Pope, of all people, is verily and indisputably Catholic.   At least, that had been true, until now, since with each new interview, Pope Francis has been providing grounds for some, well, (absurd though it may sound), doubt.  In his latest interview, with Eugenio Scalfari, the co-founder and former editor of the Italian publication La Repubblica, an interview which Pope Francis arranged, in his disarmingly direct and modest style, by simply phoning Scalfari himself, Pope Francis said the following:

"Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense;"
"Heads of the Church have often been narcissists;"
"I believe in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God..." 

Not surprisingly, these sayings raised eyebrows in certain quarters.   It's possible my own eyebrows fluttered upwards a bit.  However, Pope Francis said many uncontroversial things besides, such as

"The old need care and companionship; the young need work and hope but have neither one nor the other;"

"[The Church's] mission: to identify the material and immaterial needs of the people and try to meet them as we can. Do you know what agape is?  It is love of others, as our Lord preached. It is not proselytizing, it is love. Love for one's neighbor, that leavening that serves the common good;"  

"Personally I think so-called unrestrained liberalism only makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker and excludes the most excluded. We need great freedom, no discrimination, no demagoguery and a lot of love;"

"Personally I think that being a minority is actually a strength. We have to be a leavening of life and love and the leavening is infinitely smaller than the mass of fruits, flowers and trees that are born out of it. I believe I have already said that our goal is not to proselytize but to listen to needs, desires and disappointments, despair, hope. We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace."   

All of that sounds well within the mainstream of Catholic teaching.

 You can read the whole thing here.

UPDATE:  The interview wasn't taped, Scalfari took no notes, it was an after the fact recreation.  And Scalfari is 88 years old. 

Pope Francis in discursive mode

"The Calling of St. Matthew" by Caravaggio

a particularly meaningful painting for Pope Francis

Our pope seems a very interesting, reflective and holy man, judging from this transcript of an interview recently conducted by fellow Jesuit Anthony Spadaro.  It bears reading in its entirety.  I especially liked this part:

“I pray the breviary every morning. I like to pray with the psalms. Then, later, I celebrate Mass. I pray the Rosary. What I really prefer is adoration in the evening, even when I get distracted and think of other things, or even fall asleep praying. In the evening then, between seven and eight o’clock, I stay in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour in adoration. But I pray mentally even when I am waiting at the dentist or at other times of the day.

Prayer for me is always a prayer full of memory, of recollection, even the memory of my own history or what the Lord has done in his church or in a particular parish.... And I ask myself: ‘What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What should I do for Christ?’ ... But above all, I also know that the Lord remembers me. I can forget about him, but I know that he never, ever forgets me. ... It is this memory that makes me his son and that makes me a father, too."

Pope Francis on true discipleship

"Stations of the Cross," Henri Matisse, Chapel of the Rosary, Vence, France

 Pope Francis continues to teach little lessons through his homilies at daily Mass in the chapel of his Casa San Marta residence.   This is taken from his homily earlier today.

Jesus says that those who follow Him will have "many good things" but "with persecution." The path of the Lord, he continued, "is a road of humility, a road that ends in the Cross." That is why, he added, "there will always be difficulties," "persecution." There will always be, "because He travelled this road before" us. The Pope warned that "when a Christian has no difficulties in life – when everything is fine, everything is beautiful - something is wrong." It leads us to think that he or she is "a great friend of the spirit of the world, of worldliness." The Pope noted this "is a temptation particular to Christians."

More here.

Pope Francis passes wrinkly rocker test

Released more than 35 years ago

Patti Smith chatted with Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square, and says she "liked him a lot."

Our Lord promised he would "draw all men" to himself, a phenomenon which seems to have gained force in these early days of  Francis's papacy.

Pope Francis on salvation

"Christ the Good Shepherd,"  Mausoleum of Galla Placida, Ravenna, ca. 425 AD

After two professor-popes, we have in Francis a pope who is a shepherd.  "Pastoral" is sometimes a code word for liberal, but Francis appears to be pastoral after the example of the original pastor bonus.

From Pope Francis's homily for today:

 “The Lord saves us by His love: not with a letter, nor with a decree, but with his love,” a love so great that it led him to send his Son, who, “became one of us, walked with us,” ... The Holy Father went on to explain that “salvation” means, “the recovery of that dignity, which we have lost,” the dignity of being children of God.

Pope Francis - "Keep Quiet"

"All Saints,"  Vassily Kandinsky (1866 AD - 1944 AD)

From Pope Francis's homily today:

The Holy Father then outlined the correct behavior for a Christian. First, “do not judge anyone” because “the only Judge is the Lord.” Then “keep quiet” and if you have something to say, say it to the interested parties, to those “who can remedy the situation,” but “not to the entire neighborhood.”
“If, by the grace of the Holy Spirit – concluded Pope Francis – we succeed in never gossiping, it will be a great step forward” and “will do us all good”.

Pope Francis also spoke in favor of meekness.   Meekness and quiet - rare qualities indeed.

Pope Francis on the name of Jesus

"Holy Face,"  Georges Rouault (1871 AD - 1958 AD)

From a recent homily by Pope Francis (courtesy of John Thavis):

The pope related a story from his days as archbishop in Buenos Aires:
"A humble man works in the curia of Buenos Aires. He has worked there for 30 years, he is the father of eight children. Before he goes out, before going out to do the things that he must do, he always says, 'Jesus!' And I once asked him, 'Why do you always say 'Jesus'?'  'When I say' Jesus '- this humble man told me - I feel strong, I feel I can work, and I know that He is with me, that He keeps me safe.'”
The pope continued: “This man never studied theology, he only has the grace of baptism and the power of the Spirit. And this testimony did me a lot of good too, because it reminds us that in this world that offers us so many saviors, it is only the name of Jesus that saves.”